Life has been a bit crazy lately! Our dog (black lab / German shepherd mix) learned to jump off our deck where we keep him. He's a very large dog and is difficult for the kids to take care even though he's a really nice, friendly dog. It was a tough decision but we decided to find him another home. We posted on freecycle and a friend posted on another freecycle for him and the Lord worked it out really well that his former owners who we got him from decided they wanted him back. So Monday I drove partway to their house and met them and gave them the dog back. It was really hard on my oldest even though he knows that it's for the best.
Then on the way home we had a deer run into us. I didn't hit the deer - the deer hit us. I never saw it coming but all of a sudden I heard this loud bang and felt the van shudder. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the deer tumbling away down the road. Thankfully with a big 15-passenger van, it didn't knock us far or anything. It did dent in the driver's door pretty well so that will need some major work along with a couple smaller dents.
So, it's been an interesting faith-testing week. It's definitely a test of faith going through certain things. It's not easy to keep a sense of peace at all times - especially with so many things going on in life all at once. Definitely a learning process. I feel like there's so many things I want to do and get done and not enough time, but I know I need to have peace and prioritize and let some things go as necessary. God is faithful and doesn't give us too much to do in the hours we have and he will take control of all situations.
It's the 4th of July and I'm hanging out by myself with our new baby and our 1yo while the family is out at a picnic. It was really hard to stay home when I feel good, but I figured it was best. So with the quiet I took the time to type out my birth story. Here it is!
I was due June 30th with our baby and as the time approached was hoping to go early with the 4th of July coming up and all. We also have a town celebration that was scheduled June 28th and 29th so I kept wondering what I would be able to make it to and what I wouldn’t make it to. I typically have my babies right around my due date with my latest being one day overdue and the earliest being 6 days early (except for my twins who were a little over 2 weeks early). As it got closer and closer I wondered if I would end up going overdue for the first time as I didn’t have major signs of impending labor. I would have an occasional contraction but nothing major and no losing the mucous plug or anything.
On the 28th I still had no signs of labor but that was ok because of our town celebration. I figured I could keep busy with that. We went to some garage sales in the morning and to the playground in the afternoon. That evening there were fireworks to go to. The fireworks were really fun so I was glad that I could enjoy all of that. We came home late from the fireworks and went to bed. I did a tiny bit of nipple stimulation in the shower before going to bed but didn’t do it enough to start contractions or anything. I went to sleep pretty well around 11:15 or so.
I woke up at 1:30 A.M. with a contraction that felt fairly strong and soon had another one about 3 min. later. I could tell these contractions felt different than the Braxton hicks I occasionally had earlier. I kind of vaguely had this feeling like I had been having occasional contractions in my sleep but wasn’t quite roused by them. I typically have contractions that are close together from the start but they aren’t that strong but gradually get stronger and more intense. I decided I’d better get up and call my midwife since she’s an hour and a quarter away from our house. She said she’d be on her way when I called her. I also called a friend of mine who was coming over to help out with the labor so she could come over and then came back to the room and woke my husband to let him know. He got up and started making a few preparations in the room as I continued in lighter labor.
I did a little walking with some contractions and tried different positions. I ate a little yogurt as my midwife stresses trying to eat and drink some while in labor. The contractions were definitely getting more intense and took more work to relax through them. When it was getting close to 3:00 I had a few more intense contractions and felt like I might throw up but didn’t. I laid down on the bed on my back and for a bit the contractions eased up a bit. During this time the midwife had arrived and checked me and I was at 4cm. I was a bit disappointed and was hoping to be a bit farther along. I wanted to get into the tub sometime but wasn’t sure when the best timing for that would be as I didn’t want to slow things down. The midwife suggested I wait some as she didn’t want me to be in too long and have to get out. Then I started having some really strong contractions in bed that were pretty tough to relax through. The midwife said she could check me again if I wanted – it had been about ½ hour since she had checked me before. I was then 5 cm. I was glad to have progressed to that in ½ an hour and knew there was a good chance once getting that far that I would progress faster the rest of the way.
I talked with my midwife about getting into the tub. She was hesitant – must not have thought I was in as tough labor as I was but I had a sense I should get in and decided to go ahead and get in. It was then 4:00 A.M. The first contractions after getting into the tub, I threw up several times. It was not fun, but good to get it over with as then I wasn’t as queasy. Then I had some REALLY tough contractions and promptly commented on the fact that the tub certainly hadn’t slowed labor any! It was hard to tell if the water helped. It was good to relax between contractions in the water but I was in transition so the contractions themselves were still pretty unbearable. My midwife and friend would say encouraging things during the contractions like how I could relax and get through them and all and I would say, “no I can’t” but their words did help me get through them anyways. They kept trying to have me slow my breathing and I kept thinking that I needed to use the faster transition-type breathing.
My midwife had commented that I was probably in transition and I asked her how long it would last and she said, “maybe an hour”. I was surprised she would say that long and promptly said, “I can’t do this for an hour!”. My husband told me afterwards that it was kind of funny seeing the look on her face of “oh no, what do I say now”, and watching her try to go back on what she had said some. I don’t think she realized how hard of labor I was really in and that when I’m at that point, it’s really pretty close. I had had a little ****** pressure but not really strong. I commented on it but didn’t ask to get checked right away. I never really did get strong urges to push so I wonder if I was actually complete earlier but didn’t really realize it.
Around 4:30 I realized I hadn’t gone to the bathroom for a while and felt like I should go. I got out of the tub and went and was able to get my system all “cleaned out” which was a blessing. My midwife suggested she could check my quickly before I got back in. She checked me and said I was complete and the baby was in the birth canal, only an inch or two away from being born! I was so excited and relieved that I would be able to push and have the baby! The first pushes got her so her head was right there. The 2nd contractions of pushes I was able to have her head delivered, and the 3rd set of contractions I was able to push her the rest of the way out! It was definitely painful with crowning and delivery of the body, but all in all I think the water helped it be less painful than it was last time out of the water. She was born at 4:40 A.M.
She was brought to my chest and was in great health right away. For some reason I had a really short cord so she had to rest a little down lower on my abdomen until I cut the cord. Dad was video taping so I went ahead and cut it. Right after she was born, I checked to see if she was a boy or girl and made the announcement. I was excited about having another girl to even our numbers out a little more (3 girls, 4 boys). We had already decided to name her Lindy Mae.
After the cord was cut, I encouraged her to nurse. It took a while to get her to open her mouth to get her to latch on. After a little while, she finally did latch on and nurse. It was pretty quickly after that that I was able to deliver the placenta. I hardly had any bleeding with it. One other odd thing that seems to be normal with me for some reason, is that I never seem to have much fluids or know when my water breaks. This happened with my last birth as well and also happened with 2 other babies of mine. We don’t know when the water broke and there never seemed to be much water but all went well either way.
My midwife got ready my herbal bath that she does for mom and baby after delivery and we had the herbal bath. My friend got me some food and gave me some grapefruit and a fruit smoothie to eat right away while I was in the tub. Then after the bath, the midwife did the newborn check on the baby and weighed her and all. She was 8lb 5 oz and 20 ½” long. She’s only my 2nd 8lb baby. My first baby was 8lb 11oz and the rest of mine have been mostly in the 7lb range. After she was dressed and all, I got out and got checked by the midwife and then got to bed. It felt SOOO good to be done! My friend had made me a big breakfast so I enjoyed that and then nursed Lindy again.
Soon after all was cleaned up the midwife and my friend left to go home. My husband and I relaxed and waited for the kids to wake up. Thankfully they had slept through the whole thing. We made a couple of phone calls to tell family about the baby. My 2 daughters (7yo and 1yo) woke up first and came in. My 7yo kept talking to the 1yo explaining everything to her and all. She held the baby and we took some pictures. Gradually the boys woke up and came in. They were really tired from being up late at the fireworks but seemed to be glad to see their sister. They were pretty quiet about it but then they’re boys! The family got ready for church and I was able to stay home and rest. My parents were staying an hour away at my brother’s house and they said they’d come after church to see us and stay with us. They agreed to take the kids to the playground so we could both get a nap in in the afternoon.
All in all it went very well! I didn’t have any tearing – just a teeny skid mark in one spot. Recovery has gone very well. Basically no pain other than the post-labor contractions and all. My milk came in right away (in a day or so) so I’m mostly over the engorgement stage thankfully. I feel quite good. The last 2 nights I’ve pretty much had 8 hours of sleep since I’m not up too long with the baby and have gone to bed early enough so that's been great. I’m so grateful to God for such a smooth delivery and recovery and a wonderful, healthy baby girl! Praise be to God!
Here are a couple of pics. I'll post a couple more another time.
Mom & Lindy shortly after birth
Lindy Mae the day she was born
Announcing the arrival of Lindy Mae! She almost evens out the boy/girl ratio so we're at 4 boys and 3 girls now. She was born this morning at 4:30 A.M. at home in our tub. All went great and she's nursing and doing well. She was 8lb 5oz. Her siblings were all excited to meet her in the morning when she woke up. I'm recovering well so far and am glad to have a laptop so that I can lie down and type. Anyways, I'll send a birth story and pics in a day or two! I am so grateful to the Lord for her safe delivery and to be on the other side of delivery! God is good!
Here's my baby of the house - only a baby for a short time more!
It won't be long now before the next little one arrives and I realize how big my "baby" has gotten and she won't be called the baby anymore! Hard to believe we'll be going through the adjustment again. Generally it goes well but it's change and change is still work!
Here are a few more pics of her at her most peaceful state! I could go for a little of this naptime position right now. My midwife has been telling me I should be taking naps in preparation, but it hasn't happened too often.
Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby!
I'm praying for God's joy during delivery no matter the circumstances! It will be my 2nd homebirth providing all goes well!
I'm back again - it's been awhile since I posted last. Things have been busy around here. I've started teaching some Spanish to some homeschool kids. I teach one class to young kids and then have 2 high school girls come over to learn some Spanish once/week as well. That combined with some sickness in the house and little computer time with my husband working a lot on our computer for work means very little time to post!
All in all we're doing well. I've made it to past week 20 of my pregnancy so that's great! It continues to move along well! I have another midwife appointment on Monday so that will be good to see how things are going! The kids don't talk about the new baby too much but every now and then we talk. I'm feeling plenty of movement and all so that's nice. Everyone except my oldest boy is hoping for another sister (even my 5yo twin boys and 3yo boy).
One other interesting thing is that we're looking at a property and house on Sat. I don't know if we'd be serious enough to move again soon but the place looks beautiful and we wouldn't need to spend more $ or much more $ to get it. It's in a great location and has pretty much everything that I prayed for a long time back in a property. So I'm learning contentment. I'm learning to rest in enjoying being here and not longing to be elsewhere. I don't want to get too wrapped up in the possibilities that I neglect things I shouldn't neglect here and now. I want to walk and abide with the Lord and know that if he has us here for some reason, that I don't want to move. So we'll see if anything comes of it or not.
Otherwise, we're just plugging along trying to get well. I feel a little under the weather with a cough/cold. I'm trying to down anything to help boost my immune system for sure! Anyways, that's all that's going on here. I've had things I've wanted to post but just not gotten to them so hopefully soon!
I saw this on another blog and thought I'd add this in here before we're too far into the new year!
What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Gotten stuck on a rock (2 times) while canoeing down a river with my dad and 2 little kids riding along. Unfortunately I was supposed to be steering! We did make it out safely without dumping.
Also falling in a river in March (in Northern WI) while wearing my 6-month baby on my front in the Ergo. That was COLD but all were fine except for my digital camera. Did anyone close to you give birth? I had several good friends give birth this fall!
What was the best book you read?
Keeping Your Children's Hearts a Vital Priority by Steve & Terri Maxwell
What was your greatest musical discovery of 2007?
I've been given a violin to borrow (long-term) and it's been fun to pick that up again. I had played many years until junior high school but then hadn't played hardly ever since. I've recently played a few times in church and hope to continue doing that. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I went to a prayer and support group that I've been blessed to be a part of since moving to this area with some dear, new friends. They had found out it was my birthday and had cards and a gift for me! Then my parents were visiting us and made my cake and made me whatever meal I wanted for my birthday so I chose steak since we eat it so rarely! It was so good! We even saw a beautiful double rainbow that evening after suppertime.
Who did you miss?
A few dear friends from the Twin Cities where we used to live. Who was the best new person you met?
A neat family who lives about an hour away from us - we were hoping they'd move this way closer but that didn't work out. Also, my dear friends in my prayer group and many other neat people from our church!
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Don't get hung up on "doing what's right for God". Love him and live in his presence and trust him for each day's needs and guidance.
Three years ago it was Thanksgiving day when our little boy Judah (meaning praise) entered the world as 12:30 PM. I was able to enjoy the rest of my Thanksgiving with my little newborn boy and got out of turkey-cooking responsibilities! He was almost a week early so I was surprised to have him then! What a joy Judah has been - so full of character and life! He is full of enthusiasm and energy!
Today during our Bible reading time I read Psalm 127. Here are verses 3-5a :
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
Sorry I've been so absent here though I do have good reason...
We're expecting #7 around the end of June!!! I'm about 8 weeks along and have been pretty tired and hungry/queasy since about 5 1/2 weeks! I have my first appointment scheduled with a midwife for this Friday so I'm excited to meet her. My last birth was my first homebirth which was back in the Twin Cities. I'm hoping all will go well again for another great homebirth!
In addition to expecting again, my husband has been doing medical trasncribing to supplement our ink business (www.encoreink.com) which has going well, but it means he ties up the computer in the evenings which is when I used to have most of my computer time. I'm thankful for God's provisions. I'm sure I'll be back to posting more soon as I can't stay away too long!!!
God bless all and hope Thanksgiving is a wonderful time with family!
My 5 year-old boys had their birthday on Monday. It was very fun enjoying their enthusiasm and excitement over being 5! It's so hard to believe they're getting so grown up now! I loved being pg with twins. I was blessed with a wonderful twin pg with very few problems. Even at the end I wasn't overly anxious to have them born! They were born at 37w 5d and weighed 6lb 10oz and 7lb 6oz!
They enjoyed sleeping in a tent together in our room the night before their birthday. While they slept there I went into their room and added some painting to their wall. I had painted some a long time ago after moving in but hadn't done anymore for a while. It was fun surprising them with the extra decorating. They were surprised that next morning! We had some good friends over for supper to enjoy their birthday with us. We had a pizza supper that I make from scratch. I found an awesome easy pizza crust recipe that I use. It's very soft! Then we had presents, cake and ice cream. Here are some pics from our day!
Our Family on Sunday - Lindy is 1 week old!
Lindy on the 4th of July - 5 days old
The girls meet their new sister for the 1st time!
Proud Papa!
Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby!
Judah with his puzzle birthday cake made by dad!
I can blow it up!
Pool Cake with Jiggler Water
Gardening Cake
